Table of Contents
What is the purpose of the pn junction in a silicon solar cell?
A pn junction separates the electron and hole carriers in a solar cell to create a voltage and useful work. There are many other possible ways to extract carriers from a solar cell such as metal-insulator-semiconductor1 or even carrier selective contacts2,3.
What is an advantage of a tandem junction solar cell?
The advantage of tandem solar cells is that they exploit sunlight better. A solar cell can only convert radiation with an energy level higher than the bandgap of the semiconductor used. If the radiation is weaker, no electricity is generated.
Why is silicon semiconductor used in commercial solar cells?
It is faster and cheaper to produce. It has greater thermal stability, and greater stability in light and in the presence of electric fields. Polycrystalline silicon is now widely used to make solar panels with more than half of the production of the material going into solar cells.
What are the benefits of using multi junctions in a solar cell?
Multi-junction solar cells are capable of absorbing different wavelengths of incoming sunlight by using different layers, making them more efficient at converting sunlight into electricity than single-junction cells.
Why a tandem solar cell is fundamentally more efficient than a single junction?
In Auger-limited silicon devices, a 2J tandem cell increases efficiency relative to a single junction cell of the same overall thickness, because the top cell must be made much thinner than the bottom one to achieve current matching due to the high absorption coefficient of silicon at short wavelengths.
What are the possible configurations of tandem solar cell?
Three common tandem solar cell configurations: (a) Two-terminal, (b) mechanically-stacked four-terminal, and (c) optical coupling four-terminal.
What are silicon solar cells?
A solar cell is made of two types of semiconductors, called p-type and n-type silicon. The p-type silicon is produced by adding atoms—such as boron or gallium—that have one less electron in their outer energy level than does silicon. It bonds with its silicon neighbor atoms, but one electron is not involved in bonding.
What are silicon solar cells made from?
Crystalline silicon cells are made of silicon atoms connected to one another to form a crystal lattice. This lattice provides an organized structure that makes conversion of light into electricity more efficient.